Suuuuucccccckkkkeeeeeerrssssssssssssssss. I’m sorry, but every time I think of Suckers I can’t help but say their name like that – try it, it’s kinda fun. Suckers is a band that I’d heard about after they released their debut self-titled EP last year, but for some reason or another, never quite gave them my full attention.  On paper this is a band that I should have been in love with a long time ago – their debut EP was produced by my man Anand from Yeasayer, the band’s label mates include Muffin faves Local Natives and The Antlers, and they have shared the bill with MGMT, Real Estate, Bear In Heaven among others. With all this in mind I paid extra close attention when the band dropped their first full-length last month, Wild Smile, and I’m glad I did because the album has been a constant companion on my summer mornings (and evenings) so far.

I’m a sucker (see what I did there) for songs constructed around harmonies, and more than a few jams on Wild Smile are woven together with the band’s vocals.  It’s an eclectic indie-pop sonicscape that finds primal beats cozying up to trumpet blasts, spacey keyboards and, most enjoyably for me, lyrics and vocal deliveries that were made to be screamed along with at shows.  Oh yeah, the show…

So like I’ve been saying, the album is good, but I got a chance to see the band in action a few weeks ago at their album release party in Williamsburg and maaaaan, their live show was a boisterously sublime experience. The band transformed their album cuts to the loud and lively jams that rocked the BK that night, and thanks to Twitter, my initial reaction has been been memorialized for eternity (actually that’s probably not true, and even if it is I’m not sure it’s a good thing.)  As I mentioned, some of the tracks were made to be sang along with, and if you know anything about your boy Trizzy and shows,  I like me to get a good sing-a-long in whenever I can. And I’m not the only one either – the band encored with ‘Loose Change’ and were joined on stage by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, various members of Yeasayer, Class Actress and a few others I couldn’t make out…by the end of it all we were all jamming in there like nobody’s biz. Check out the strangely hypnotic album art and a few tracks below, along with a vid of the ‘Loose Change’ encore (wait until about the 3 min mark for the stage takeover).  Suckers: Train Tested. Muffin Approved.

BUY ME AT AMAZON (monkey not included)

Suckers – Black Sheep

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Suckers – It Gets Your Body Movin’

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Be sure to follow your boy Train on Twitter to keep up with the freshest news coming out of the Muffin bakery!